2006 NHRA Columbus Coverage

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2006 NHRA Columbus Coverage

Postby draglist » Sat May 20, 2006 2:10 pm

SCHUMACHER TOPS AMONG RECORD-SETTING PROVISIONAL NO. 1 QUALIFIERS

Hight in Funny Car, Connolly in Pro Stock and Hines in Pro Stock Motorcycle also top respective qualifying fields

HEBRON, Ohio -- Back-to-back Top Fuel champion Tony Schumacher posted a 4.476-second pass at 331.53 mph Friday night to highlight a record-setting opening day of qualifying at the 42nd annual Pontiac Performance NHRA Nationals presented by Summit Racing.

Seven of eight National Trail Raceway records fell by the wayside in the opening two sessions of the $1.5 million race, the eighth of 23 events in the NHRA POWERade Drag Racing Series.

The track record elapsed times of Funny Car's Robert Hight (4.715), Pro Stock's Dave Connolly (6.693), and Pro Stock Motorcycle's Andrew Hines (7.038) placed them atop their respective fields, although they had to share the spotlight with Gary Scelzi (329.58 mph), Jason Line (206.16), and Chip Ellis (193.46), who all set NTR speed records under nearly ideal conditions.

Schumacher's run was a true crowd-pleaser as the U.S. Army dragster lit up the night sky with a perfect header flame pattern all the way down the track. When his time and speed flashed on the scoreboard, the capacity crowd erupted.

"I didn't think that run would be as good as it was, but we'll certainly take it given how we've been struggling lately," Schumacher said. "The key will be to put together two runs tomorrow so we have a good feeling going into race day."

Hight went from zero to hero in 4.715 seconds with a track-record pass that lifted him from last place on the qualifying sheet to the provisional No. 1 qualifier slot. The Auto Club of Southern California Ford Mustang driver has been the top qualifier once this year and seven times in his career.

"I didn't think that time would stand, especially since we were the first pair up there in that round," Hight said. "There were a lot of cars that had run quick in the first round and I figured they'd really be stepping on it tonight. I didn't even think we'd be top four, to be honest, but here we are."

Connolly remains the man to beat in Pro Stock. Coming off his win in Atlanta, the pride of Elyria, Ohio, thrilled the locals by leading both qualifying sessions. His second pass of 6.693 seconds at 205.94 mph in the Tommy Utt-tuned Skull Gear Chevy Cobalt set a track elapsed time record.

"He's like Superman right now," Connolly said of Utt. "Everything he's doing is working. We made an absolutely beautiful pass just now. We made the right run at the right time, and it's great to do it here with all our friends and family here cheering us on."

Hines posted a track-record 7.038 at 189.07 mph on his Screamin' Eagle Vance & Hines Harley-Davidson V-Rod during the second session to easily pace the two-wheel category by more than three hundredths of a second.

"That's the best run a V-Rod has made in a long time," Hines said. "We're trying very hard to go out there and run with the top bikes. We've had to work on improving our 60-foot times. The competition has forced us to change what we were doing. I'm not ready to say we're where we need to be but it's getting better, that's for sure."

Ellis opened with a 7.069 at 193.46 mph, a National Trail speed mark, but couldn't improve in the cooler evening session, so his S&S Buell V-Twin dropped one spot from first to second.

Saturday's final two time trials are scheduled for noon and 2:30 p.m.

HEBRON, Ohio -- Results Friday after qualifying for the 42nd annual Pontiac Performance NHRA Nationals presented by Summit Racing at National Trail Raceway, eighth of 23 events in the $50 million NHRA POWERade Drag Racing Series. Qualifying will continue Saturday for Sunday's final eliminations.

Top Fuel -- 1. Tony Schumacher, 4.476 seconds, 331.53 mph; 2. Bob Vandergriff, 4.513, 323.89; 3. Cory McClenathan, 4.523, 329.50; 4. Melanie Troxel, 4.529, 303.03; 5. Larry Dixon, 4.531, 324.28; 6. David Baca, 4.542, 327.27; 7. Rod Fuller, 4.558, 326.00; 8. David Grubnic, 4.558, 321.96; 9. Brandon Bernstein, 4.566, 326.08; 10. Scott Palmer, 4.780, 294.88; 11. Doug Herbert, 4.819, 298.67; 12. Luigi Novelli, 5.054, 306.33; 13. J.R. Todd, 5.097, 201.40; 14. Doug Kalitta, 8.559, 98.07; 15. Morgan Lucas, 9.733, 84.77; 16. Hillary Will, 10.370, 75.58.

Funny Car -- 1. Robert Hight, Ford Mustang, 4.715, 326.63; 2. John Force, Mustang, 4.720, 326.79; 3. Tony Pedregon, Chevy Monte Carlo, 4.728, 323.58; 4. Whit Bazemore, Dodge Charger, 4.741, 327.11; 5. Cruz Pedregon, Monte Carlo, 4.744, 326.56; 6. Gary Scelzi, Charger, 4.749, 329.58; 7. Tommy Johnson Jr., Monte Carlo, 4.752, 325.92; 8. Ron Capps, Charger, 4.759, 322.96; 9. Eric Medlen, Mustang, 4.765, 317.72; 10. Jim Head, Dodge Stratus, 4.777, 320.05; 11. Scott Kalitta, Monte Carlo, 4.797, 316.67; 12. Del Worsham, Monte Carlo, 4.799, 319.07; 13. Tim Wilkerson, Monte Carlo, 4.832, 318.69; 14. Gary Densham, Monte Carlo, 4.832, 312.13; 15. Tony Bartone, Monte Carlo, 4.840, 320.89; 16. Phil Burkart, Monte Carlo, 4.850, 314.90.

Pro Stock -- 1. Dave Connolly, Chevy Cobalt, 6.693, 205.94; 2. Jason Line, Pontiac GTO, 6.701, 206.16; 3. Greg Anderson, GTO, 6.701, 205.60; 4. Jim Yates, GTO, 6.704, 205.85; 5. V. Gaines, Dodge Stratus, 6.717, 205.76; 6. Ron Krisher, Cobalt, 6.717, 205.01; 7. Richie Stevens, Stratus, 6.719, 204.73; 8. Mike Edwards, GTO, 6.720, 205.82; 9. Dave Howard, Cobalt, 6.722, 206.13; 10. Warren Johnson, GTO, 6.726, 205.76; 11. Rickie Smith, GTO, 6.731, 205.04; 12. Allen Johnson, Stratus, 6.740, 205.41; 13. Dave Northrop, Stratus, 6.742, 203.80; 14. Mike Thomas, Stratus, 6.743, 205.04; 15. Larry Morgan, Stratus, 6.743, 204.76; 16. Greg Stanfield, GTO, 6.744, 204.70.

Pro Stock Motorcycle -- 1. Andrew Hines, Harley-Davidson, 7.038, 189.07; 2. Chip Ellis, Buell, 7.069, 193.46; 3. Karen Stoffer, Suzuki, 7.071, 188.02; 4. Matt Guidera, Buell, 7.072, 185.95; 5. Matt Smith, Buell, 7.073, 189.79; 6. Craig Treble, Suzuki, 7.075, 189.20; 7. GT Tonglet, Harley-Davidson, 7.084, 188.04; 8. Marco Andreano, Buell, 7.085, 185.54; 9. Michael Phillips, Suzuki, 7.126, 187.31; 10. Antron Brown, Suzuki, 7.127, 184.95; 11. Tom Bradford, Buell, 7.148, 192.58; 12. Ryan Schnitz, Buell, 7.149, 180.02; 13. Shawn Gann, Suzuki, 7.152, 182.11; 14. Steve Johnson, Suzuki, 7.162, 186.12; 15. Angelle Sampey, Suzuki, 7.172, 185.69; 16. Geno Scali, Suzuki, 7.184, 186.98.
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Postby Gator » Sat May 20, 2006 5:28 pm

Johnson's MOPAR in P/S...WOW
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Postby jim sanders » Sat May 20, 2006 5:35 pm

what a pass!! to go top the tp from outside ! yates lookon good also

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Postby draglist » Sat May 20, 2006 10:14 pm

Veteran Pro Stocker Allen Johnson Earns First No. 1 Qualifier

Schumacher, Hight, and Chip Ellis round out top performers at Pontiac Performance Nationals

HEBRON, Ohio -- Pro Stock veteran Allen Johnson used a personal-best pass of 6.679 seconds at the 42nd annual Pontiac Performance NHRA Nationals presented by Summit Racing to earn the first No. 1 qualifier of his career. The race is the eighth of 23 on the $50 million POWERade Drag Racing Series.

Johnson was joined at the top of the respective qualifying ladders by Tony Schumacher (Top Fuel), Robert Hight (Funny Car), and Chip Ellis (Pro Stock Motorcycle).

Racing in his 11th season as a professional, Johnson had never qualified No. 1 before Saturday. All that changed when he posted a 6.679 at 205.82 mph in his Johnson & Johnson/Mopar Dodge Stratus R/T in the final qualifying session.

"That's probably the best run we've ever made in our team's history," Johnson said. "We've come close to being No. 1 qualifier three different times but never got it done. It's nice to finally get one."

Schumacher (4.476 at 331.53 mph) and Hight (4.715 at 326.63 mph) didn't improve on their opening day runs and received no real challenges in Saturday's sunshine. Ellis was another story, coming from mid-pack to earn the top spot with a track-record 7.025-second pass on his Buell V-Twin.

This was Schumacher's fifth low qualifier award of the season but the back-to-back reigning champion is still looking for his first win of the year for the U.S. Army team.

"This is a good veteran team," Schumacher said. "These guys won't get rushed. We all know the clock is ticking but we're not going to panic with only a third of the season gone. With other teams, maybe they would worry. But we have Alan Johnson and everyone knows he's capable of turning it on big time."

Schumacher's teammate, points leader Melanie Troxel, ended up fifth with a 4.529 in the Skull Shine/Torco Race Fuels dragster.

Hight was No. 1 earlier this year in Las Vegas but it didn't pay off as he lost in the opening round on race day to the same opponent he'll face again this time around, Tony Bartone. He's hoping his eighth career low qualifier will turn out better for his Auto Club of Southern California Ford Mustang team.

"The last time I was No. 1 we raced Tony Bartone in Round 1 and he beat us," Hight said. "We got him again tomorrow so I guess we owe him one. You never forget those tough first-round losses and I'm sure I'll be thinking about it all night tonight."

Ellis grabbed the NTR speed record Friday with a 193.46 mph clocking. Saturday, he added the more important elapsed time mark Saturday when clocked a 7.025 to place his Drag Specialties S&S Buell V-Twin on top of the Pro Stock Motorcycle field for the first time this season.

"I was surprised with that 7.02 just because there was a pretty strong headwind and that usually slows the bikes down quite a bit," Ellis said. "I just got into my tuck and tried to get as small as possible. I was pretty excited when I heard what I had run."

Sunday's eliminations begin at 11 a.m.

HEBRON, Ohio -- First-round pairings for professional eliminations Sunday for the 42nd annual Pontiac Performance NHRA Nationals presented by Summit Racing at National Trail Raceway, the eighth of 23 events in the $50 million NHRA POWERade Drag Racing Series. Pairings based on results in qualifying, which ended Saturday.

Top Fuel -- 1. Tony Schumacher, 4.476 seconds, 331.53 mph vs. 16. Scott Weis, 4.662, 318.24; 2. Bob Vandergriff, 4.513, 323.89 vs. 15. Luigi Novelli, 4.646, 318.54; 3. Rod Fuller, 4.516, 326.00 vs. 14. Hillary Will, 4.624, 317.87; 4. Cory McClenathan, 4.523, 329.50 vs. 13. Doug Herbert, 4.617, 316.30; 5. Melanie Troxel, 4.529, 303.03 vs. 12. Morgan Lucas, 4.610, 299.53; 6. Larry Dixon, 4.531, 326.95 vs. 11. Doug Kalitta, 4.590, 329.67; 7. David Baca, 4.542, 327.27 vs. 10. Brandon Bernstein, 4.566, 326.08; 8. J.R. Todd, 4.557, 311.49 vs. 9. David Grubnic, 4.558, 321.96.

Funny Car -- 1. Robert Hight, Ford Mustang, 4.715, 326.63 vs. 16. Tony Bartone, Chevy Monte Carlo, 4.840, 320.89; 2. John Force, Mustang, 4.720, 326.79 vs. 15. Gary Densham, Monte Carlo, 4.832, 312.13; 3. Tony Pedregon, Monte Carlo, 4.728, 323.58 vs. 14. Tim Wilkerson, Monte Carlo, 4.832, 318.69; 4. Whit Bazemore, Dodge Charger, 4.741, 327.11 vs. 13. Bob Gilbertson, Dodge Stratus, 4.806, 318.77; 5. Cruz Pedregon, Monte Carlo, 4.744, 326.56 vs. 12. Del Worsham, Monte Carlo, 4.799, 319.07; 6. Gary Scelzi, Stratus, 4.749, 329.58 vs. 11. Scott Kalitta, Monte Carlo, 4.797, 319.14; 7. Tommy Johnson Jr., Monte Carlo, 4.752, 325.92 vs. 10. Jim Head, Stratus, 4.777, 320.05; 8. Eric Medlen, Mustang, 4.756, 317.72 vs. 9. Ron Capps, Charger, 4.759, 322.96.

Pro Stock -- 1. Allen Johnson, Dodge Stratus, 6.679, 205.82 vs. 16. Greg Stanfield, Pontiac GTO, 6.722, 205.29; 2. Jim Yates, GTO, 6.680, 205.85 vs. 15. Dave Howard, Chevy Cobalt, 6.722, 206.13; 3. Jason Line, GTO, 6.688, 206.61 vs. 14. Dave Northrop, Stratus, 6.718, 205.44; 4. Erica Enders, Cobalt, 6.689, 205.98 vs. 13. Ron Krisher, Cobalt, 6.717, 205.19; 5. V. Gaines, Stratus, 6.689, 206.26 vs. 12. Rickie Smith, GTO, 6.712, 205.16; 6. Dave Connolly, Cobalt, 6.693, 205.94 vs. 11. Mike Edwards, GTO, 6.707, 206.39; 7. Larry Morgan, Stratus, 6.693, 205.47 vs. 10. Warren Johnson, GTO, 6.706, 206.04; 8. Greg Anderson, GTO, 6.695, 205.60 vs. 9. Richie Stevens, Stratus, 6.696, 204.98.

Pro Stock Motorcycle -- 1. Chip Ellis, Buell, 7.025, 193.46 vs. 16. Paul Gast, Suzuki, 7.154, 185.82; 2. Andrew Hines, Harley-Davidson, 7.038, 189.26 vs. 15. Ryan Schnitz, Buell, 7.149, 181.91; 3. Matt Smith, Buell, 7.059, 189.79 vs. 14. Geno Scali, Suzuki, 7.145, 186.98; 4. Karen Stoffer, Suzuki, 7.071, 191.32 vs. 13. Shawn Gann, Suzuki, 7.145, 188.99; 5. Matt Guidera, Buell, 7.072, 186.64 vs. 12. Antron Brown, Suzuki, 7.127, 185.03; 6. Craig Treble, Suzuki, 7.075, 189.20 vs. 11. Michael Phillips, Suzuki, 7.126, 187.31; 7. GT Tonglet, Harley-Davidson, 7.084, 188.04 vs. 10. Tom Bradford, Buell, 7.110, 192.58; 8. Marco Andreano, Buell, 7.085, 185.54 vs. 9. Angelle Sampey, Suzuki, 7.089, 186.69.
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Postby CH3NO2 » Sun May 21, 2006 10:09 am

Since Schumacher only got down the track once ( during the night session ) and it is raining in Columbus as I am typing, maybe Scott Weis will be able to send Mr Army packing early. Time for Weis to go a few rounds anyway.

Go Robert Hight and Allen Johnson.

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Postby Rapid Randy Baker » Sun May 21, 2006 10:39 am

Hillary Will's deal was pretty wild! I think she did a VERY good job of driving the car and was extremely lucky also. She managed to get the car into the only open slot, then got the chutes out to stop. Good Job. :)

In case you didn't hear, Will's car started going left, as she was in the right lane. It wouldn't come back and she ended up crossing behind, then passing Vandergriff {UPS car} on the left side between his car and the wall. :shock:
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Postby CH3NO2 » Sun May 21, 2006 12:05 pm

She did a good job driving to be sure. Her front wheels did not miss Vandergriff's left parachute by very much. Vandergriff has had 2 consecutive night qualifying near misses - and lost in the Paul Page ( why is Marty Reid gone ? ) coverage of the run was the 4.51 was Vandergriff's career best et.

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Postby Rapid Randy Baker » Sun May 21, 2006 12:38 pm

You are right. I wondered later on what he had run since he was ahead of here, I fig he might have run well. 8)

Did anybody see Will's car make another big move on her single run? Right when she stepped off the gas the car moved around pretty good.
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Postby jim sanders » Sun May 21, 2006 12:44 pm

:( no tv coverage for me.... first round rollin 8)

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Postby jim sanders » Sun May 21, 2006 1:16 pm

8) :D gotta love it !!


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